The government’s decision to bring all National University-affiliated state-run colleges offering graduate and postgraduate degrees under public universities will not bring any benefit, rather it will be harmful for both the NU and public universities, according to NU senate members.
If the decision is implemented, a haphazard situation will be created in the country’s higher education system, they said. The public universities are not themselves free from session jam. Some 30,000 to 50,000 students of the colleges under NU will be an extra burden for them, they added.
Instead spiting the NU, the government should take steps to remove its existing problems, including shortage of teachers, infrastructures, libraries, reading rooms, laboratories and other facilities instead of breaking it down, the NU senate members said.
The NU senate members expressed the concerns at a special meeting at its Gazipur campus on December 27.
The NU formed a committee consisting of seven members at the meeting, which will meet the prime minister to express their concerns, said sources in the NU. On August 31, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina directed the education ministry to bring the government colleges under public universities.
Prof Dr Muhammad Samad, a senate member of the NU, said the social and political impact of the government’s decision would be very bad.
With the existing infrastructures and manpower, the public universities will not be able to afford the massive students of the NU affiliated colleges, he said.
Prof Samad, also the vice-chancellor of the University of Information Technology and Sciences (UITS), said the college students who will receive degrees from public universities may fall victim to discrimination.
Moreover, the NU has recently taken some decisions, including decentralisation of its administrations, reduction of session jam, publishing result within 80 days, digitization of its activities and strengthening regional offices, to improve its academic activities and quality of education, he said.
With 2,154 institutions, including government 275 and private 1879 colleges, about 21 lakh students and around 60,000 teachers, the NU is the largest university in the country, and afflicted with various problems, session jam. Against this backdrop, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has recently formed an eight-member committee to implement the government’s decision.
On December 7, the UGC arranged a view exchange meeting where vice-chancellors of 36 public universities were present with UGC chairman AK Azad Chowdhury in the chair.
Headed by UGC member Prof Mohammad Mohabbat Khan, the committee will submit its report making recommendations on how to implement the prime minister’s guideline.
Prof Mohabbat Khan told the Dhaka Tribune that the NU was established to improve the quality of higher education and to reduce session jam in 1992. But it failed to fulfill the expectation.
“The prime minister has given a guideline about this issue. We also have observed it,” he said.
To change the existing condition of the NU the government’s decision should be implemented, he said.
